Senseless Violence

I was prepared to write today's blog about Mentorship as a follow up to yesterday's blog, "Lean In." However, after yesterday's bombing at the Boston Marathon, I had to weigh in.  First and foremost, what a horrific outcome to what is supposed to be a wonderful day of fun, pride and accomplishment.  My heart goes out to those who were injured and to the families of those who were killed.  I was in the car for almost ten hours yesterday so I began hearing about the bombing almost as soon as it happened.  I then had the opportunity to hear and read about the goings on for several hours.  I would like to comment on two facets from yesterday. 

First and of lesser importance, what I did find amazing is the media and their rush to get out a story before everyone else as well as their rush to judgment.  MSNBC had it as an act of domestic terrorism by a right wing anti-government group.  Fox had it as an act of international terrorism.  CNN's spin was in retaliation for high taxes with the act being committed on tax day, April 15th.  Why can't they simply report the facts and save the speculation for their internal prep meetings so they are better prepared to report on who did what after more is known?  Their speculative reporting breeds contempt for either the right or the left when they have no facts to support their stories. 

The second aspect and a much more important one was the emergency medical response in Boston.  It was amazing watching individuals running to assist those who were injured, not knowing if additional bombs would explode as thousands were running away from the scene.  Then to have over 140 patients, many who were critically injured with some requiring leg amputations, arriving in a limited number of hospitals.  That would be taxing to any health care system, but they made it happen.  They got it done; they work miracles as hospitals across the US do almost every day when there are car accidents with mass casualties, bus crashes, train derailments, industrial accidents, mass shootings, weather disasters and the list goes on.  Over my thirty seven years in health care, I have had the opportunity (?) to participate in about a dozen disasters, fortunately, none to the magnitude of yesterday, but at least one explosion that resulted in a loss of lives and numerous injuries.  It is amazing to see how the medical field responds at every level........from those in the field to the nurses to the physicians to the housekeepers to the technicians. We are blessed as a nation to have dedicated and committed health care professionals who truly care about their patients, their communities and their fellow man.  What an amazing job on the part of Boston's health care community yesterday and  it will be continuing for weeks, if not months, to come.

Lean In

Over the weekend, I read an excellent book by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.  Her book, "Lean In," is fast becoming a best seller and is a wonderful read for any woman and actually, most men.  Normally, a book like this wouldn't be my first choice, but after reading an interview with the author, I was intrigued by what I had read.  I, in turn, bought two copies of the book, one for each of my daughter's and I took the opportunity to read a copy. 

Sheryl offers solutions to women looking to pursue leadership positions or enhance their leadership abilities. This book would be especially valuable for any young woman having any doubt about what she is or can contribute.  Sheryl writes about how she suffered from the "imposter syndrome" with even being the best in her class from high school through Harvard, working for the World Bank, the US Treasury Department, Google and now Facebook.  She was fearful that someone would find out that she really isn't all that.  She was overwhelmed with self-doubt as many of us can be in varying times in our lives. 

"Lean In" is filled with excellent advice for all of us, from mentorship to the struggles of working mothers.  I chose to read "Lean In" so I can be of greater assistance to my two daughters and the many women with whom I work as they look to enhance their leadership abilities.   I would hope that by coupling my mentorship background and knowledge with the insights provided in Sheryl's very well written book, it will benefit the many women by whom I am so fortunately surrounded.

Patient Safety At WMHS

Last evening, a team of physicians and staff attended the Maryland Patient Safety Center's Award Ceremony hosted by Rudy Giuliani.   WMHS was invited because we were the guests of honor.  You see, we won the Maryland Patient Safety Center's Award for Patient Safety.  The award is presented each year to the hospital or health system that has the most innovative patient safety solution in the state.  We won for "Door 2 Balloon: A Rural Community's Story of Shifting Cath Lab Activation for Acute MI to EMS First Responders".  What that means in English is that we now allow for emergency medical responders to activate our cardiac catheterization lab from the field when they suspect that a patient is having a heart attack. The goal is to deliver cardiac intervention within 90 minutes of the patient's arrival to the hospital.  Field activation has reduced D2B to an average of 55 minutes with a low of 40 minutes.  What I find amazing is that 50% of our heart attack patients still arrive by private vehicle and that average is 73 minutes.  Having a heart attack is a situation whereby every minute counts so that 18 minutes could be the difference between life and death.  We now have a campaign to educate those in our region to call 911 rather than driving to the ED.  Another interesting aspect of this life saving initiative was the number of potential false activations from the field.  For the last three years, the average has been about 14% of the time activation wasn't necessary, but 86% of the time the EMS responders were correct.  An excellent outcome and a credit to our region's emergency medical responders.  Receiving  this award is great recognition of the very hard work of dedicated physicians and staff at WMHS.  Congratulations on a job very well done!

   I will be away next week so my blogs will resume the week of April 15th.

Heart Surgery in Aisle 2

The retail industry is getting bolder as they reach further and further into the health care market.   According to Kaiser Health News, Walgreens is now moving beyond the typical flu shots and sore throats and venturing into primary care.  They will be treating patients with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and elevated cholesterol levels.  Other retail stores, like Wal-Mart, Target and CVS, assist customers with managing their chronic illnesses, but only after they have been diagnosed elsewhere. 

The American Academy of Family Physicians isn't happy with Walgreens’ plan as it is too difficult to manage the care of patients who are receiving care in a variety of settings and in locations where specialty services aren't readily available.  Quite frankly, two and a half years ago, I would have been taking the same position as the AAFP.  However, when $140 million of my costs are from treating 1972 patients who are high utilizers of services due to their multiple co-morbidities such as diabetes, COPD and congestive heart failure, I am thrilled that there is additional help out there.  Having Walgreens treating patients with chronic conditions in a retail setting is just one more tool that can be used in keeping patients healthy enough to remain out of the hospital.  As long as Walgreens is providing safe, accessible care and know their limitations, I applaud their initiative.

Taking the Pulse of Health Care CEOs

I read an article today in H&HN Daily based on a CEO Forum that was conducted  by Huron Healthcare.  The consensus was that something has to change and the fee for service model isn't going to last.  What was surprising is that there are still some CEOs who believe that the transformation which is occurring now will at some point pass and "the cash register will once again start ringing" based on increases volumes.  Really?  The US now spends almost $3 trillion on health care annually, and I thought everyone knew that was unsustainable.  Wow, there still are dinosaurs sitting in the C-Suites across the country.  Fortunately, the majority of CEOs are projecting optimism and working tirelessly and inspiring their staff on the positive aspects of health care reform.  From my perspective, the optimism is real and we are living it today.  There are aspects of the Affordable Care Act and health care reform that are working for our patients and staff.  Every day, we are working to build upon our successes to date.  Those CEOs who are waiting for reform to pass are in for a long wait; and, if their thinking doesn't change, their boards will make them extinct.

Family Feud Doctor Style

Yesterday, we celebrated Doctor's Day at WMHS.  The day culminated with our first ever game of Family Feud.  The game was based on the popular game show and was emceed by our own tuxedo attired, Dr. George Garrow, Chief Medical Officer.  We had the surgeons (Scalpels) vs. Medicine (Scopes).  They were asked to match the answers from questions asked of 100 WMHS nurses.  The event was very well attended and was a lot of fun.  I was laughing from start to finish.  It was also a great opportunity to see our physicians in a very different light and they exceeded our expectations.  They are already talking about the next match to include the doctors verses Administration (Suits) or doctors verses nurses.  Photos of the two teams are included.  My thanks are extended to both teams, Dr. Garrow, Cindy Bridges and the many volunteers who assisted in putting the event together.

April Fools' Day

For some reason, I have never embraced April Fools’ Day.   I am not really into practical jokes; although I am reminded by my wife that I have “that Black Irish sense of humor,” which is not necessarily a good thing.  As a kid, I remember my mother coming into my bedroom to wake me up and asking if I thought that we would have school that day since it snowed all night.  After she saw how excited I was, she would then say “April Fool” while she pulled up the shade to reveal what would be a beautiful sunny Spring morning.  I think that I fell for that every year as I was always hoping for no school under any circumstances. 

Rolling the clock forward to today, I read an article on making sure that as leaders we keep April Fools’ Day pranksters from crossing the line.  Someone had to write an article on April Fools’ guidelines for leaders, really?  OK, now that I piqued your curiosity, here are the guidelines for us leaders from ManageBetterBiz:

Choose the right victim – don’t select new employees or a boss without a sense of humor.

Keep a lighthearted tone – never humiliate a colleague.

Be open about your role – if you are the prankster, own up to it; if you can’t own up to it, don’t do it.

Think safety first – don’t damage anything or hurt anyone.

Avoid sexual humor – this is a no-brainer; too much at risk.

So, there you have it; an actual article on how to encourage your employees to be effective pranksters on April Fools’ Day.  Enjoy your day.